The Scene

Peter McGillivray

Baritone

The award-winning Saskatchewan baritone Peter McGillivray has been gaining accolades on both the concert and operatic stage. He won the Deuxième Grand Prix and prize for Best Canadian Performance at the Montreal International Musical Competition, a success followed by another top prize at the Queen Sonja Competition in Oslo, Norway. He previously gained national recognition at the CBC Radio-Canada Young Performers Competition in Calgary when he took home the First Prize as well as the Audience Award.

Mr. McGillivray had a busy season in 2013-2014, packed with performances across Canada from Québec to Vancouver. He began the season with Opéra de Québec and the role of Sharpless in MADAMA BUTTERFLY, followed by the Vicar in ALBERT HERRING for Vancouver Opera. He was Dr. Falke in DIE FLEDERMAUS for Edmonton Opera, Schaunard in LA BOHEME for Manitoba Opera and on the concert platform, he was heard in Saskatoon in Ralph Vaughan Williams SEA SYMPHONY and Montreal in Bach's JOHANNES PASSION. He sang Mahler's LIEDER EINES FAHRENDEN GESELLEN for Toronto Summer Music in August and his 2014/2015 season includes the role of Father Palmer in SILENT NIGHT for Calgary Opera, Handel's MESSIAH for the McGill Chamber Orchestra and Bartolo in LE NOZZE DI FIGARO for Opera Lyra Ottawa.

His 2012/2013 included Schaunard in LA BOHEME for Opera Lyra Ottawa, the world premiere of SHELTER for Edmonton Opera and the Vicar in ALBERT HERRING for Pacific Opera Victoria. On the concert stage, he sang Haydn's DIE SCHÖPFUNG for the Georgian Bay Concert Choir, Bach's Mass in B Minor for Kitchener's Grand Philharmonic Choir and the Peterborough Singers and also appeared with the Talisker Players of Toronto. His 2013 summer festival season included ACIS AND GALATEA for both the Festival of the Sound and the Elora Festival and he was also heard for the latter in CARMINA BURANA.

Past seasons have been dominated by works including PAGLIACCI (Silvio), GIANNI SCHICCHI (Betto) and MOBY DICK (Stubb) for Calgary Opera, and GIANNI SCHICCHI (Marco) for the Canadian Opera Company. As a concert artist, he was heard with the Elmer Iseler Singers, the Windsor Symphony in Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, MESSIAH for the Grand Philharmonic Choir and in a special concert programme at the Festival of the Sound. A popular artist at summer festivals, he was featured as a recitalist at FestiVoix in Trois Rivieres (also broadcast by CBC/Radio Canada), the Elora Festival of Ontario and for the Luminato Festival, he appeared in Andrew Staniland's DARK STAR produced by Tapestry, with further performances of Bach's Mass in B Minor for the Festival of the Sound. He was in New York at the Metropolitan Opera as cover artist for Schaunard in LA BOHEME and Olivier in CAPRICCIO.

Other highlights include performances as Schaunard in LA BOHEME and Dolokhov and General Belliard in WAR & PEACE for the Canadian Opera Company, the World Premiere of Omar Daniel's THE SHADOW for Tapestry, Falke in DIE FLEDERMAUS for Opera Hamilton, de Bretigny in Calgary Opera's MANON, CARMINA BURANA for the Brott Festival in Hamilton Ontario and he also continued his participation in Tapestry's groundbreaking initiatives 'Opera To Go', 'Lib-Lab' and 'Opera Briefs'.

He has also sung the Duruflé REQUIEM for the Vancouver Chamber Choir, MESSIAH with the National Arts Centre Orchestra and the Winnipeg Symphony, Bach's Mass in B Minor and Haydn's DIE SCHÖPFUNG with the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and Estacio's THE HOUSES STAND NOT FAR APART with the Richard Eaton Singers in Edmonton.

A former member of the Ensemble Studio of the Canadian Opera Company, he made his professional debut as Aeneas in Purcell's DIDO AND AENEAS and sang Schlendrian in a staged production of Bach's COFFEE CANTATA. Further Canadian Opera Company credits have included Sid and the Vicar in Britten's ALBERT HERRING, and Wagner in FAUST. He was seen as Demetrius in Britten's A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM at Tanglewood and highlights of past seasons have included a Debut Atlantic tour of the Maritime provinces; recitals in Toronto, Montreal, Calgary, Saskatoon and Ottawa; and engagements with the Calgary Philharmonic, the Regina Symphony and l'Orchestre Symphonique de Québec.

Mr. McGillivray is a graduate of the University of Toronto's Opera Division and he also holds an honours degree in Canadian History and Literature from the U of T's University College. Having previously performed at the Ravinia, Aldeburgh and Aspen Music Festivals, he has been awarded grants from both the Jacqueline Desmarais Foundation and the Canada Council for the Arts. He has been a finalist and prize-winner at the Eckhart-Gramatté Competition, at the Lotte Lenya Singing Competition and at the Robert Schumann International Competition for Piano and Lied, held in the composer's birthplace of Zwickau, Germany.

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Jenna is the editor and co-creator of Schmopera.com. She's a pianist and vocal coach, and her work in opera allows her to present a truly insider look at the industry and its artists. Jenna has also written for Musical Toronto and the Canadian Opera Company's Parlando blog.